Local retailers finding customers online

He owns two brick-and-mortar storefronts - Cazale's Florist in downtown Stockton and Stockton Floral in north Stockton - that account for more than 90 percent of his business.

And Specht is honest about what he thinks of his current online site - an e-commerce site operated by flower order broker Teleflora but that displays Cazale's phone number, address and description.

"As far as ... ordering online, it's been a losing proposition for years," he said.

"With all these additional charges that go to online stuff, it's not a good thing for us."

And his customers get far fewer blooms for their bucks, as well.

But Specht is not about to give up on the Internet. Quite the contrary, he's in the process of developing a new website - cazalesflowers.com - that's more about presenting the qualities of his business of providing flowers for weddings, parties and other special occasions and less about touting generic seasonal flower arrangements.

"We're trying to get that more to our level," he said. "I want it to be a little bit more sophisticated, a little bit more about us."

Retail businesses need to be on the Internet, said Nate McBride, acting director of the San Joaquin Delta College Small Business Development Center.

"People don't use their Yellow Pages anymore," he said. "They're all getting on their phones or computers or tablets and looking for businesses."

While consumers often prefer to be able to see, touch or try on certain products - such as flower arrangements, flowers or shoes - a website can help attract new customers, let repeat customers easily reorder goods or services and provide a wider geographic reach.

"It's easy enough and cheap enough to have an online presence," McBride said. "There are very few businesses that wouldn't benefit from that, ... especially for finding new customers."

Dillard's operates full-line department stores in 29 states, including a Stockton store, but its website, dillards.com, greatly expands its reach.

"We think of it as a separate store, and it's our largest store," said Julie Bull, a spokeswoman for the Little Rock, Ark.-based retailer.

Dillards.com reaches customers in all 50 states, plus a number of foreign countries, since it began offering international deliveries several weeks ago.

But it's more than just a shopping site, Bull said.

"It allows us to educate our customers regarding fashion trends, hot items, new products and in-store events," she said. Dillards.com is a complement to our store operations and vice versa."

While Dillard's does not separately break out its online sales, Bull said that channel is rapidly growing and being supported by a new fulfillment center opened in March.

Peck's Jewelers is all about its hands-on, brick-and-mortar retail presence.

Peck's is Stockton's oldest family owned and operated jewelry store, founded by Peck Fields in 1945 and now run by his grandson Jeff Fields. It recently moved to a new storefront in Stonecreek Village on Pacific Avenue after 31 years in nearby Sherwood Mall.

"I would never buy a diamond online from a supplier online. That's never done," Jeff Fields said. "Why should an end buyer do it?"

But he is sure to maintain a website - pecksjewelers.com - to bring in new customers, who may not know of his business' long history or even seen the new store.

"You would want to assume everyone's heard of Peck's, but that's not true," Fields said.